GeneralDisorder

This one is an auto, so no clutch repair cost's. It's been maintained exclusively by the dealer and the current dealer quote for repairs sits at $3500 (and as we all know that's mostly labor). Tires are about 1 year old, cosmetically clean, female driver - non-smoker, etc. I don't forsee many issues - here in OR it's kosher to buy and resell a vehicle without registering it - there are multiple reassignments on the title and as long as I have the bill-of-sale I'm good to drive it for a short time. Interesting system we have here but it seems to work. That's why I'm willing to go as high as I am and hopefully make a quick sale and get out from under it. Anyway - no one replaces the head bolts I take it? GD

VF11 has the same bolt pattern as a TD04/05 and it is different than the VF7 on both sides. Yes you have to mod the up-pipe flange. GD

Have you removed the calipers in the front and made sure they are free on their pins and the pads are good? GD

The owner is saying that the dealer quoted a new radiator. I wonder if that's a CYA thing when replacing the head gaskets? I know often in the machinery I work on we quote new cooler's as it's tough to clean them and it's good insurance. I guess I'll see if/when I do the job. It's looking likely that I'm going to buy the car for around $1750. Needs the HG's, radiator and a front axle. Think I should be able to resale it for a decent profit after all that? KBB says $4250 on private party. I was thinking of flipping it for $3300 - $3500 after making the neccesary repairs. GD

Even getting a used driveline from out here on the West Coast would be pretty cheap. Break it down into it's two peices, wrap the ends in cardboard and ship it via UPS. Being there are so many EA82's left here there are also quite a few with fairly low mileage. The drivelines often last the life of the car out here so you could get a decent quality unit I'm sure. GD

Top mount intercooler and convert to a larger turbo - VF11 or TD04. Don't increase the boost much - uncork the exhaust. Should make 130 without much trouble. Watch the cooling system - probably should freshen the whole system anyway - it's a major weak point on these engines. GD

An intercooler is always advised on these engines. There are some things you can do, but a lot of them have more to do with making the engine more reliable rather than netting more power. They are 115 HP stock, and without a lot of modifications and loss of what little reliability they already have, you aren't going to push much more than about 140 HP. The absolute outside limit of the engine seems to be around 175 HP but that's with a ton of mods and isn't particularly reliable. Compare those numbers to that of the EJ family - the non-turbo EJ22 puts out 135 or 145 depending on the year, and the EJ22 Turbo is 165 bone stock - closer to 200 with a top mount IC and turbo-back exhaust. The money to make an EA82T more powerful is better spent installing an EJ engine - you will get the power you want without any mods, and you will get a high degree of reliability - even higher than the EA82T was without any mods at all. GD

That's very low. I would question both your gauge and sending unit placement. It is not unusual to see 1100* or 1200* F on turbo engines when under boost. I had my digital temp gauge on my EA81 non-turbo and it ran 500* - 600* F at idle. GD

Balancing really isn't an issue with the joints themselves. The bulk of the joint is very near the axis of rotation (they are tiny joints).... it's really just not much of an issue with Subaru drivelines. I haven't ever heard of someone needing a balancing after replacing only the joints - personally I've done probably half a dozen sets of u-joints and it's never been any issue at all. GD

So rough estimate I can figure it will come in under $200 in parts. Sounds good. Thanks. GD

What is the problem with the driveshaft? If it's just u-joints they can be replaced - you have to grind out the stakeing to remove the old one's and the replacement's are for a toyota IIRC. The center carrier bearing is not serviceable. Best bet is just to get a complete used driveline - they are plentiful and cheap. Your EGR code is not the valve - it's the control solenoid near the thermostat housing. You can just replace it with a 33 Ohm, 5 Watt resistor and that will clear the code. You don't need the EGR or the solenoid. The rest of the stuff is minor and can all be fixed at the next timing belt interval. At 177k you still have a fair amount of miles left in it. It's not at all uncommon for your engine to last past 300k. GD

I'm looking at doing a HG on a 99 Forester with the phase II 2.5 What is the parts cost associated with the job? Probably just doing HG's as the engine has been maintained at the dealer and is not currently in need of a complete t-belt job. Anything I should definitely replace while I'm in there with the HG's? Who here also replaces the bolts? Experiences with/without replacing them? Thanks GD

Check for spark when it dies. If there is none, then you have an ignition problem - which could indeed be the amp module on the coil bracket. Anything that shuts down the ECU would also have the same effect as the ECU will not fire the plugs if it doesn't have power. Fuel, spark, air, valve timing, ignition timing - one is missing but I can't tell you which one. GD

Some Loctite on the OD of the seal will stop that. Doesn't help if you have never replaced the original seal though... GD

Twin Harley carbs. Seriously - look them up - they are cheap and well suited to the size you need if you use two of them. They are variable venturi carbs and are very simple to tune. No one wants the stock one's so they are dirt cheap. GD

Dexon ATF has an ISO rating of around 29 or 30.... 10 weight oil has an ISO of 32 for comparison. So ATF is a schosh thinner than 10 weight - it's hydraulic oil so this makes sense. But it's also rated as a gear oil - obviously it has to protect the same gears that generally run in 90 weight gear oil - thus it's fortified with a lot of additives to counter it's thinness. GD

Usually means the drive cable is going out. My Brat has done it at low speeds for years - different clutster's, different transmissions - only thing that hasn't changed is the cable itself. GD

22E's have shown to be pretty reliable if you keep the boost to about 5 pounds. And they are a dime a dozen from the 90 to 94 legacy's so if you blow one it's not really a big deal to find another. As for management - you should look into MegaSquirt. It's right up the alley of a college student and very configureable. GD

ATF will not attack seals. Buna, Nitrile, and Viton are all rated for use with ATF. It is also petroleum based but it has a large amount of degreasers and solvents in it. It is rated for use in automatic transmissions after all . Most of the stuff out there - MMO, Rislone, engine flush/diesel, etc will not do any better than ATF. Not worth the difference in price IMO. Remember that post about the magazine that rated rust-busting fluids? You remember what was ranked the highest? 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone. I have a can of Deep Creep in the garage but I wasn't that impressed with it. Yield is much better although I do want to try the 50/50 mix when I aquire some high-concentration Acetone. GD

Spray around the engine bay with something flammable. Carb cleaner, degreaser, etc. When the engine changes pitch you have found a leak. GD

I've usually had that problem with worn-out throttle cables. Check to make sure it's not the wire trying to eat into the cable sheath. Either way - pedal assembly or wire - should be an easy fix. GD

Nothing wrong with carbs - run several myself and just bought another. But here's the drawbacks of *not* using the FI: 1. Bastardized engine. You will have many non-off-the-shelf parts. 2. Lower performance. You'll never tune the carb to be as perfect as the MPFI is across the whole RPM range. It's not the right technology for that. Of course you will still get a LOT more than the EA81. 3. Driveability will decrease somewhat. Cold running will be worse. The MPFI does things like keeping the RPM up a few hundred when the vehicle is rolling, and smoothes out things like abrupt throttle changes. 4. Economy will decrease somewhat. The MPFI can do things the carb cannot - such as completely shut down the injectors under closed throttle coasting. I would expect a couple MPG decrease on a stock height vehicle. Personally, the MPFI is my choice. Easy access to replacement parts, simple self-diagnostic ECU. Few sensors and even fewer moving parts. A small box of spares and a DMM will net you more reliability than any carb owner could ever dream of. There is a learning curve though and if you don't enjoy that sort of thing or have the time then the carb might be for you. GD

Nothing wrong with flushing - but I prefer using a mixture of ATF and inexpensive engine oil. It's cheaper, just as effective, and you can leave it in for a 100 miles or so then drain out the black mess. GD

Weber's are made in Spain. Does he mean they were built for the Brazilian VW market or something? As far as I know, no Weber's have ever been produced in south America. I don't see any issue with a 24/24 design but a larger single barrel would be easier and simpler to tune. You can do a LOT even with a 32/36. I have been engaged in the development of a turbo-charged Suzuki Samurai using one - in fact the carb is one I rebuilt and ran myself for a couple years before passing it to a co-worker. Make no mistake - this is NOT a good carb to use for a blow-through turbo setup - but he's a determined and pig-headed individual and after many months of tuning and about a dozen times on my wide-band setup he's got it going OK. You can't imagine the problems he's had.... in the process we both learned a TON about the carbs and how air-bleed and emulsion tubes interact etc. It was an amazing learing experience but you definitely want something simpler if you are planning on running twin carbs. GD

EA81's of the vintage being discussed here have solid lifters and do not use oil pressure to inflate them. So valve noise would be the same even if you drained the oil or stopped the pump. Re-evaluate the situation after you do a valve lash adjustment. GD